VIDEO: Toyota boss Akio Toyoda drifting the 86

It’s good to see company bosses put away their CEO hats and be like us normal car enthusiasts once in awhile. Here we see Toyota president, CEO and occasional racer Akio Toyoda behind the wheel of his company’s superstar sportscar, the Toyota 86. The 56-year old is a true petrolhead, and is widely credited as the force behind the firm’s more exciting projects like the Lexus LF-A and the 86.

In this 2:19 clip, we see Toyoda getting the 86 sideways on both gravel and snow. It’s quite obvious that he was having a ball of a time, even letting off a big laugh that those who have driven the rear-wheel drive Toyota 86 would relate to.

We had a similarly fun time behind the wheel of one of our favourite cars of 2012, as chronicled in our test drive report. Recently, we discovered another side of the Toyota 86, a more serious side, at a Sepang trackday, which you can read about here.

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Danny Tan

Danny Tan loves driving as much as he loves a certain herbal meat soup, and sweet engine music as much as drum beats. He has been in the auto industry since 2006, previously filling the pages of two motoring magazines before joining this website. Enjoys detailing the experience more than the technical details.

 

Comments

  • pooyu on Jul 22, 2013 at 7:14 pm

    coool…berjiwa muda mr ceo..

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 4
  • jolly_idiot on Jul 22, 2013 at 7:51 pm

    Careful your spinal dude. Bucket seat is good but won’t work too much for aging bones. Haha

    But… mabbe the 86 won’t be so powerful until it can twist his bones.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 14
  • sudonano on Jul 22, 2013 at 9:00 pm

    This is the guy who led the same company to build the Vios. I am wondering how did the Vios ever get approved by him, especially the gen 2, when they could make such great cars like the LF-A and 86.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 2
    • frenzyaustin on Jul 22, 2013 at 9:12 pm

      I wonder if he will say “Nani??!! What do you meant a car that used same parts for 3 generation are from my company?” when one of his man show comment from internet user about the not so new Vios.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
    • because vios is for poor countries. it’s meant to be affordable like saga. blame our tax for making the price high

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 12 Thumb down 3
      • and i read your comment a 2nd time. wtf how did a gen 2 ended up there ?

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
        • tokmoh on Jul 23, 2013 at 12:07 am

          Gen 2 as in the second generation ie dugong.

          mk3 now admittedly much better looking, but still reeks of mockery of third world market not needing as well equipped or engineered as they would for European market.

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
        • kitolo on Jul 24, 2013 at 11:41 pm

          he meant the 2nd generation dugong

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • civicEK on Jul 22, 2013 at 10:21 pm

      Vios is for people like u who worship that car like a god.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 1
    • C~two on Jul 23, 2013 at 1:26 pm

      Vios mean low production cost but high profit, any CEO would have approved it.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 1
  • frenzyaustin on Jul 22, 2013 at 9:10 pm

    Akio Toyoda is a great business man, he know how to handle a company in a very bad time, his company is still doing finely with limited amount of resource although the product isn’t met people’s expectation.
    On the other hand, he is a huge car enthusiast too, the performance vehicle from his company ain’t no jokes. Lexus LFA brought out the best of Japanese technology and all reviewers is fall in love with that car, Jeremy Clarkson and The Stig from Top Gear UK praised this car very well and Jeremy admitted LFA is a better car than new Ferrari F12 Berlinetta.
    While LFA is a dream and near impossible to own one, Toyota also came out with a very affordable (not in Malaysia) performance vehicle that near anyone can own. What I realized when I watch review of GT86 is the reviewers didn’t talk too much on technical about this car, they also didn’t freak out like in some very fast supercars, they just keep smiling and laughing while driving it and they can’t even describe it. On paper, it looks slow and unpromising but when you drive it once, especially manual, you’ll appreciate it.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 17 Thumb down 0
  • Kalun on Jul 22, 2013 at 9:22 pm

    Like a Boss.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
  • Boys r just pretending to enjoy the 86 so people would go n buy their cars. Bet they would rather spend a lap on track in their zondas or mclaren at their garage

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 7
    • GTR 2.0 on Jul 23, 2013 at 9:24 am

      At least he know how to really promote his car. What about our beloved Proton CEO?

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0
      • tokmoh on Jul 23, 2013 at 11:59 am

        DRB makes the govt change their fleet to honda accord. that just shows how much faith in proton they have, eh?

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
        • Tokalot on Jul 23, 2013 at 12:03 pm

          Proton has no accord sized product la Mr Genius

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 1
          • tokmoh on Jul 24, 2013 at 2:17 am

            Cannot continue pakai perdana V6?

            Another admission they have no faith in their product, admitting PV6 unreliable and has maintenance cost that can rival Ferraris’ and Lambos’.

            Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • lozer on Jul 23, 2013 at 5:50 am

    they copy proton to show off their so-so handling lol

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 5
  • video sounds sux. capture from tv?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • Alex Chan on Jul 23, 2013 at 11:06 am

    TOYOTA!..world best..enaff saying, compare the sales of vios and other europe car..then u know, u drive a TOYOTA (even vios) everyone will assume u are successful person..its a fact ok!..cannot afford a vios meh?..next 5 years, dont forget to vote DAP..after DAP win election…car price will be cheap cheap one..confirm!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 9
  • kitolo on Jul 24, 2013 at 11:37 pm

    the 1nz-fe engine is one tough durable engine. i abuse it daily and it still purrs with no problem. so i have no problems if they kept the engine. maybe a gearbox change might be nice.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
 

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